Heuchera plant named ‘Encore’

ABSTRACT

A new cultivar of hybrid  Heuchera  named ‘Encore’, characterized by its leaves that are rose-purple in color with a silvery overlay and dark rose-purple veins with a lower leaf surface that is a vibrant red-purple in color. ‘Encore’ can be further characterized by its compact and mounded plant habit, its tolerance to heat and humidity and its hardiness at least in U.S.D.A Zones 4 to 9.

Botanical classification: Heuchera hybrid.

Cultivar designation: ‘Encore’.

CROSS REFERENCE TO A RELATED APPLICATION

This application is co-pending with U.S. Plant patent applications filedfor sibling plants derived from the same cross in the inventor'sbreeding program that are entitled Heuchera Plant Named ‘Pinot Noir’(U.S. Plant application Ser. No. 12/002,889), Heuchera Plant Named‘Beaujolais’ (U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 12/008,338),Heuchera Plant Named ‘Pinot Gris’ (U.S. Plant patent application Ser.No. 12/008,928), Heuchera Plant Named ‘Tiramisu’ (U.S. Plant patentapplication Ser. No. 12/002,921), and Heuchera Plant Named ‘Pistache’(U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 12/008,927).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of hybridHeuchera, botanically known as a Heuchera of hybrid origin and ishereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘Encore’.

The new cultivar was derived from a controlled breeding program by theinventor in Hantay, France. The inventor made a cross in summer of 2005between Heuchera ‘Gloire d'Orleans’ (not patented, syn.Heuchera×brizoides ‘Gloire d'Orleans’) as the male parent andHeuchera×villosa ‘Caramel’ (U.S. Plant No. 16,560) as the female parent.The goal of the breeding program was to obtain unique cultivars ofHeuchera that combined the flowering habit of ‘Gloire d'Orleans’ withthe vigor and unique foliage coloration of Heuchera×villosa. Theinventor selected ‘Encore’ in 2006 as a single unique plant amongst theseedlings that resulted from the above cross.

Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar was first accomplished underdirection of the inventor by in vitro propagation in Rijswijk, TheNetherlands in winter of 2007. Asexual reproduction of the new cultivarby division and tissue culture has shown that the unique features arestable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and represent thecharacteristics of the new cultivar. These attributes in combinationdistinguish ‘Encore’ as a new and unique cultivar of Heuchera.

-   -   1. ‘Encore’ exhibits unique foliage with leaves that emerge        rose-purple in color with silver highlights and rose-purple        veins, leaves are held on rose-purple petioles. The underside of        the leaves are a vibrant red-purple.    -   2. ‘Encore’ exhibits medium sized, orbicular shaped leaves.    -   3. ‘Encore’ exhibits a compact, mounding plant habit.    -   4. ‘Encore’ is tolerant to high heat and humidity imparted by        having Heuchera×villosa in its parentage.    -   5. ‘Encore’ is cold hardy in U.S.D.A. Zones 4 to 9.

‘Encore’ differs from its parent plants in that ‘Caramel’ is a ×villosahybrid and has foliage that is yellow-orange in color and ‘Gloired'Orleans’ is a ×brizoides hybrid with green foliage.

‘Encore’ can be compared to Heuchera ‘Regina’ (not patented) as thenewly emerging leaves have similar coloration, however the mature leavesof ‘Regina’ are green in color with a silver overlay. The closestcomparison plants in overall leaf shape, habit, and performance are itssibling cultivars that differ in foliage coloration; ‘Pinot Noir’ hasdark purple-grey leaves, ‘Beaujolias’ has burgundy red foliage, ‘PinotGris’ has foliage that emerges orange-yellow in spring and changes to arose color with a silvery overlay in summer, ‘Tiramisu’ has foliage thatis yellow-green with red mottling, and ‘Pistache’ has yellow-greenfoliage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The accompanying colored photographs illustrate the overall appearanceand distinct characteristics of the new Heuchera. The photographs weretaken in mid summer of plants six months in age as grown outdoors in a3-liter container in The Netherlands.

The photograph on the first sheet provides a view of the plant habit andtypical mid summer coloration of the new and mature foliage of ‘Encore’.

The photograph on the second sheet provides a close-up view of a youngleaf of ‘Encore’.

The colors in the photographs are as close as possible with thephotographic and printing technology utilized. The color values cited inthe detailed botanical description accurately describe the colors of thenew Heuchera.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT

The following is a detailed description of six month-old plants of thenew cultivar grown two in a 3-liter container outdoors in TheNetherlands. Plants were grown under average day temperatures of 12° to28° C. and average night temperatures of 5 to 14° C. The phenotype ofthe new cultivar may vary with variations in environmental, climatic,and cultural conditions, as it has not been tested under all possibleenvironmental conditions. The color determination is in accordance withthe 2001 R.H.S. Colour Chart of The Royal Horticultural Society, London,England, except where general color terms of ordinary dictionarysignificance are used.

-   General description:    -   -   Plant habit.—Compact, clump-forming, mounded, herbaceous            perennial.        -   Height and spread.—Reaches a height of about 16.4 cm in            height and about 36.7 cm in width.        -   Hardiness.—At least U.S.D.A. Zone 4 to 9.        -   Culture.—Full sun to medium shade in moist, well-drained,            fertile soils, tolerant to high heat and humidity.        -   Diseases and pests.—Disease free in the conditions tested,            no susceptibility or resistance to pests has been observed.        -   Root description.—Fibrous roots on woody rootstalks.        -   Branching habit.—Basal rosettes of leaves on petioles.        -   Propagation.—In vitro propagation is the preferred method,            division are also possible.        -   Root initiation.—Roots appear in rooting media in 10 day at            20° C. in the laboratory without supplemental lighting.        -   Root development.—Rooted transplants from tissue culture            fully develop in a 2.5 inch container in about 20 days in a            greenhouse with average temperatures of about 20° C. without            supplemental lighting in The Netherlands.        -   Growth rate.—Moderate, grows about 5 cm per month in spring,            with an average crop time of 20 weeks to develop in a 9 cm            container.-   Foliage description:    -   -   Leaf shape.—Orbicular in overall shape.        -   Leaf division.—Simple.        -   Leaf base.—Hastate, moderately overlapping.        -   Leaf apex.—Rounded with abruptly acute tip about 0.5 mm in            length.        -   Leaf venation.—Primary palmate, secondary net-veined,            conspicuous on upper surface, vein color on upper surface            176A to 178A and 146B when mature, vein color on lower            surface 187D.        -   Leaf margins.—Lobed with an average of 5 lobes per leaf,            lobe margin crenate.        -   Leaf attachment.—Petiolate.        -   Leaf arrangement.—Basal rosettes.        -   Leaf orientation.—Held nearly horizontal to petiole and            slightly curled downward with maturity.        -   Leaf surface.—Upper and lower sides and margin sparsely            covered with short hairs, average of 0.5 mm in length and            155C in color, slightly rough to touch.        -   Leaf color.—Young upper and lower surface; 187B to 187C with            overlay between veins of 190D, maturing upper surface: 177D            with conspicuous veins and overlay of between veins of 190D;            mature lower surface; 187D.        -   Leaf size.—Average of 8.9 cm in length and 8.5 in width.        -   Leaf quantity.—Average of 31 leaves as grown in a 3-liter            container.        -   Petioles.—Round in shape, average of 14.2 cm in length and 2            mm in width, 185C in color, surface is moderately covered            with short hairs; average of 1.5 mm in length and 155C in            color.        -   Stipules.—None.-   Flower and seed description: Flowering plants were not available for    data collection, racemes of white to pink bell-shaped flowers    typical of Heuchera should be expected under the right conditions    for flowering as they were reported to be observed on the original    plant.

1. A new and distinct cultivar of Heuchera plant named ‘Encore’ asherein illustrated and described.